President* Trump, So yesterday’s weather forecast was off and we actually got some rain last night. Not a lot, but it took a little bit of the smoky edge off this morning and it was easier to breathe. Right now the air quality index is at 180, which is just “unhealthy” instead of “very unhealthy” … Continue reading Caputo did the job he was hired to do
Common Ground
A big tent made of an awesome patchwork quilt
President* Trump, It wasn’t just the direct references and the montage of images honoring those who were among us who are no longer among us because of your nihilistic responses to COVID-19 and systemic racism that tethered last night’s Democratic convention content to sober, painful here and now realities. It was the whole, whole thing, … Continue reading A big tent made of an awesome patchwork quilt
Piecing together connection and being
Dear President Trump, For about the last year I’ve closed my walking lovingkindness meditation with the following: May we all have the courage and the resolve to be peace and kindness. May we all have the resolve and courage to accept kindness and peace. Maybe I’ve told you about this before – I’m not sure … Continue reading Piecing together connection and being
Degrees of freedom
Dear President Trump, It isn’t often that I choose a title for a letter to you before the letter is written, but this afternoon I decided today’s title needs to be Degrees of Freedom, which really, is kind of ironic since by choosing the title ahead of time, I boxed myself in to talking about … Continue reading Degrees of freedom
What did you do? What will you do?
Dear President Trump, Well, today marks the 1,000th consecutive day that your inbox has received a letter from me. Next Saturday will mark the 1,000th consecutive day that I kept copies of the letters, but I think today is the real anniversary. Would I have taken on this daily correspondence to you if I’d known … Continue reading What did you do? What will you do?
Frailties, possibilities, and getting down to work
Dear President Trump, I’m not sure whether I’m really fighting a cold or am just tired, but yesterday morning I felt pretty awful and decided to take today as a sick day preemptively. It wasn’t really necessary since I seemed to have bounced back, but it was nice to be able to sleep in and … Continue reading Frailties, possibilities, and getting down to work
Elijah Cummings ~ one of our truest lights
Dear President Trump, One of our steadiest, truest little lights, one that never, ever hid under a bushel, went out last night when Elijah Cummings passed away. I wanted to yell “NO” when I saw the headline this morning, and I definitely did in my head. And if my heart could talk, it would have … Continue reading Elijah Cummings ~ one of our truest lights
If only vacuum cleaners were still the scariest things
Dear President Trump, I don’t know if I’ve told you this before, but I work from home on Fridays (and actually get tons done those days J). This is relevant because there was a get together for a colleague who’s leaving the VA at a venue near the VA, which meant that I had to … Continue reading If only vacuum cleaners were still the scariest things
Shoring up with ‘Good News’
Dear President Trump, Yesterday after reading the rough transcript of your call with Zelensky, the whistleblower’s report (“report” seems like the most appropriate noun to use now), and trying to learn more about that odd sentence regarding Zelensky needing to make a deal with Putin before he would get his WH invitation, I made a … Continue reading Shoring up with ‘Good News’
Risking connection and compassion
Dear President Trump, I didn’t tell you about this part of yesterday in yesterday’s letter because I wanted to hold it close for a little while before sharing it with you, my most difficult person – still. What happened is that the universe did its universe thing when one of our neighbors called in the … Continue reading Risking connection and compassion